April, the daughter of Tamika and Mike Evans, was born at 8:20 a.m. Wednesday in a car outside the Child Youth Services center at Fort Bliss. She weighed 6 pounds, 8.2 ounces, and is doing well.

"Saying that it was an exciting morning is an understatement," said Army Sgt. Mike Evans. "She was supposed to be born in April. She obviously had other plans."

Tamika Evans began having contractions at 4:35 a.m. Wednesday, and at 7 a.m., the contractions were getting closer. Thinking they still had enough time between contractions, the couple decided to drop off their 13-month-old son, Alexander, at the U.S. Army Child Youth and School Services day care on post.

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"But I forgot his medicine, and so I went to the pharmacy to get some over-the-counter medication, then went back to drop off my son," Mike Evans said.

In the five minutes it took for Mike Evans to take his son out of the car and into the day care, Tamika Evans began delivering April Suzanne in the passenger seat of the couple's 2001 Pontiac Grand Am.

"I was just screaming and holding onto the seat belt and pushing at the same time," Tamika Evans said. "And she ended up coming. I didn't want her head to get squashed so I propped my legs on the dashboard and pushed."

When Mike Evans came out with his son -- because the day care was full -- he saw his wife hunched over the seat and the baby on the passenger's seat.

"The baby wasn't crying, and when I picked it up, it was breathing and moving," Mike Evans said. "It seemed OK. But I started hollering for help. And all these people -- a staff sergeant, the assistant director from CYS and another man came out and helped my wife get comfortable and cover and clean up the baby."

John Perales, an infrastructure superintendent with Aztec Contractors, said he was installing waterlines on the base when he heard Mike Evans shout for help.

"I ran over there and saw the baby and told them to stay calm," Perales said. "And when I looked, I saw that the umbilical cord was still attached. A female soldier was there, and she contacted EMS and they directed us on what to do. Another person from the day care was getting towels and taking care of the couple's older son."

Perales used scarves he had in his truck to cover them and used shoe laces to tie off the umbilical cord.

"About seven minutes after all this happened, EMS got there and cut the cord and took them to the hospital. Now I'm digging ditches with a shovel," Perales said musingly. "It's just beautiful that all people of different walks of life came together when someone was in need and didn't question anything. They just took care of business."

When paramedics arrived, they took Tamika and the baby to William Beaumont Army Medical Center for evaluation.

Tamika and Mike Evans said they wanted to express their gratitude to everyone who helped them and hoped they could get in touch with them.

"I don't know who those people were, or their names, but the most important thing to us is to express an overwhelming gratitude for the help they provided," Mike Evans said. "I want everyone to know that the baby and mom is doing OK."

The couple said they decided to name their daughter April Suzanne. April for the month she was supposed to be born in and Suzanne after her grandmother.